On one of the only sunny days in February my good friend Sue & I went to Benington Lordship Gardens, near Stevenage, Herts, England to see the snowdrops. Well actually to have a good gossip with a cup of tea & a piece of cake. But there were snowdrops…gazillions of them.
And lots of other lovlies to gaze upon. A few Helleborus sps…
And some spectacular Salix ‘Midwinter Fire’ blazing in the sunshine…
Along with a really beautiful well-organised fruit & vegetable garden which wasn’t doing much as it was only February but a visitor could see how well prepped the beds were…
A small lake had been dammed from a spring that ran along the gully at the bottom of the garden. So simple & lovely…
The reflection was quite restful & there was some early courtship birdsong. This lightly wooded waterside environment will supply a whole range of birds & wildlife with abundant breeding habitat. For today we had a couple of graceful geese gliding by…
The main building was very graceful too. Nothing like a blue sky & a bit of winter sunshine to show-off a Georgian English country house with a motte & castle…
We found some snowdrops with name tags. This one caught my eye because of its yellow throat, it’s called Galanthus ‘Primrose Warburg’. I think she’s rather smart.
The combination of ancient brickwork, dazzling salix & a time-worn door deserved a photo. I couldn’t resist trying the door. It didn’t yield.
It was all rather enchanting but I expect the sunshine had a lot to do with the mood that day. The garden is closed now but opens for Easter & again for the late May holiday. However, my interest was piqued for the August bank holiday weekend when there’s a chilli festival. Fun.
It looked like there had been some new planting going on, the box parterre didn’t look very old & small clumps of snowdrops had been dotted about.
But for most parts the snowdrops were naturalised in huge swathes under the trees bathed with thrusts of winter sunlight.
Easter will be a good time to visit again. Early spring perennials & blossom should be in abundance. Do check their website if you plan to visit.